mate wisdom in keeping its children in her parochial schools, and it would be impossible for that church to live long without such a means of inculcating its doctrines in the minds of rising generations. The public schools would soon educate Catholic children away from the church if they were allowed to attend them.

The Lutherans also have been wise in recognizing the importance of Church schools. The Rev. C. J. Oelschlaeger, D. D., pastor of Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, of Richmond, who has a parochial school in connection with his church, tells me that "the Evangelical Lutheran Church has a system of church schools fully as well developed as that of the Catholic Church," and furnishes the statistics "one Synod of the Southern Church, the so-called Synod of Missouri, for 1896. Communicant members, 380,006. Parochial schools, 1,527; Parochial school teachers, 1,586; Parochial school scholars, 87,908." This surely is a very handsome exhibit. In these schools, in addition to the secular branches, the Bible, the Church catechism and Church history, are regularly taught. Why cannot we Presbyterians emulate the example of our Lutheran brethren, who are so much like ourselves in polity and doctrine?

In Canada we may learn something from the experiments there being tried on several lines. In the province of New Brunswick there is a public school system, and by law, religious instruction is excluded from the curriculum. In the Protestant province of Ontario the Protestant public schools are without religious instruction. This is said to have come about as an effect of denominational jealousies. The teachers are forbidden to read any except certain passages from the Bible, selected by the general school authorities, and are not allowed to make any comments. They are also required to read very indefinite and unsatisfactory forms of prayer at the opening and closing of each day's exercises. The Catholics have a portion of the school funds and control their schools absolutely, giving the children a thorough indoctrination in the tenets of the church.

In Ontario there is a system of Episcopal Church schools culminating in Trinity University of Toronto. The schools are modeled after English Church schools and give thorough religious instruction. In the elementary stage of education the schools have not been established in all communities, but their numbers are growing, and the Episcopal schools of Ontario are acknowledged by eminent Presbyterians to be giving the best results of all the schools in the province.

In the province of Quebec there is a division of the school funds. The Protestants here are in the minority, and they have their own schools with a complete religious curriculum, under the direction of a Protestant Board of Commissioners.

In Manitoba the Protestants are in the majority, and there are no separate public schools. But the priests are allowed at certain hours to come in and give religious instruction. An eminent Canadian Presbyterian declares that in the Catholic province of Quebec the backbone of the Roman Church is the Catholic schools, supported as they are by public funds. It so happens there that the Protestants, though a minority, pay the greater part of the taxes, and the funds being distributed by the per capita of the children, the Roman Catholics get the larger portion of the money. A Presbyterian minister of the province of Quebec speaking this said to me, that he did not object to this. It was far better for children to have a Roman Catholic training than to get no religious instruction of any kind. Better to be Romish than infidel.

It is plain that the logical result of the State undertaking to educate the young is that religion shall be eliminated altogether from the schools. It takes time to reach this result but it is certain to come at last. Therefore I argue the State has no business to undertake education, for the evident reason that it cannot give the young a complete education of their whole nature. The whole system is wrong, and it is time that the Church and parents awoke to their responsibility for the proper education of children.

The Christian people of the United States have long since

begun to supply their youth with religious education in connection with their secular training. There are Church colleges scattered over all the land, and they are doing a vast work, not only, but the best work that is being done, to make good men and women. The great number of these institutions, and the host of students on their rolls, show that there is a demand for colleges in which Christian influences are paramount.

Notwithstanding the great influence given by civil authorities, and the vast sums expended out of the public taxes, upon State institutions, two-thirds of the graduates of the nation are from Church and independent colleges. It is plain that a very large proportion of the best people of the land are not satisfied to have their youth educated without positive religious instruction, at least during the years immediately preceding graduation.

It may also be stated that the greatest institutions of America are not as a rule State Universities; witness-Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Columbia, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Leland Stanford, Chicago, Brown, and Amherst. The subsidizing of a University by the State prevents its receiving large bequests, and also brings the University into politics. So in point of fact few State Universities attain greatness.

Through the personal kindness of Hon. W. T. Harris, U. S. Commissioner of Education, I have secured the following interesting statistics of education in the United States. These are the figures for 1896-1897 for students in universities and colleges for men, and those to which both sexes are admitted, and for schools of technology. They do not include colleges exclusively for women:

The following are the statistics of colleges for women exclusively :

Students in Public Institutions.....

Students in Independent Institutions....

Students in Church Institutions.....

458

2,921

4.959

These figures show that in male colleges the church is doing a third more than the State, and in female colleges ten times as much.

In the Church colleges religion is taught of course, and that is the case also in many independent colleges that have no connection with either Church or State. Washington and Lee University is a notable example of this class, so also is Hampden-Sidney College, which is classed as non-sectarian or independent, in the National Educational Reports.

All this shows that twice as much is being done for higher education by church and independent institutions as is being done by the State. But when we come to the lower branches of education, and look at the elementary schools, we find that though there are numerous independent private schools, the State is doing the great mass of this work, and the Church. (except the Roman Catholic) comparatively little. The Church has failed to appreciate the importance of religious training in elementary schools. The unwisdom of this is manifest from the fact that it is while children are in their elementary studies they are most easily impressed with religious truth.

The whole number of pupils in the public elementary schools of the United States in 1897, was 13,998,585.

In private elementary schools there were 1,334,800 pupils. I have not been able to get the denominational elementary schools, but the following are the reports for high schools, academies, and seminaries not connected with the State:

The Roman Catholic and the Lutheran are the only churches that have undertaken to have a complete system of elementary church schools. In this they show their wisdom. The most important years in the life of a youth, regarded from a religious standpoint, are from 6 to 16-the period when religious impressions are usually received, if ever. The Roman Church does not greatly encourage higher education, for reasons of its own, but it does keep its hand on its children until they are thoroughly indoctrinated with the teachings of the Church.

The Church should enjoin upon parents the duty of establishing for their children, schools in which the Christian element is dominant, and should superintend the religious instruction given.

A conference of four South Atlantic Synods, four or five years ago, adopted a report, asking each Synod represented to appoint a permanent committee on "Church and Christian Education to excite interest in Christian education; and urging ministers to preach on the subject, also enjoining Presbyteries and Church Sessions to establish primary and preparatory schools in which the Bible should be a text book." This report was adopted by the Synods and the work was undertaken as proposed. In North Carolina collections are taken